Green
Visualizing the Human Impact on the Earth’s Surface
Click here to view the full version of this graphic
Visualizing the Human Impact on the Earth’s Surface
View the high resolution version of this map by clicking here.
There is little doubt that human activity has impacted the Earth, but to what extent?
As it turns out, nearly 95% of the Earth’s surface shows some form of human modification, with 85% bearing evidence of multiple forms of human impact.
This map by data scientist Hannah Ker outlines the extent of humanity’s modification on terrestrial land ecosystems.
Measuring the Human Impact
This map relies on the Global Human Modification of Terrestrial Systems data set, which tracks the physical extent of 13 anthropogenic stressors across five categories.
- Human settlement: population density, built‐up areas
- Agriculture: cropland, livestock
- Transportation: major roads, minor roads, two tracks, railroads
- Mining and energy production: mining, oil wells, wind turbines
- Electrical infrastructure: powerlines, nighttime lights
Researchers compiled all these stress factors and scaled their impact from 0 to 1. Then, in order to map the impacts spatially, the surface of land was organized into cells of 1 kilometer in length creating “edges” of varying impact.
These impacts are further organized by biomes—distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate.
Digging into the Data
Only 5% of the world’s lands are unaffected by humans, which amounts to nearly 7 million km² of the Earth’s land, and 44% (59 million km²) is categorized as low modification.
The remainder of land has a moderate to high degree of modification: with 34% categorized as moderate (46 million km²), 13% categorized as high (17 million km²), and 4% categorized as very high modification (5.5 million km²). This latter category is the most visible on the map, with portions of China, India, and Italy serving as focal points.
Below is a look at how Earth’s various biomes fare under this ranking system:
Out of the 14 biomes studied, the least modified biomes are tundra, boreal forests, deserts, temperate coniferous forests, and montane grasslands. Tropical dry broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf forests, Mediterranean forests, mangroves, and temperate grasslands are the most modified biomes.
Dense human settlements, agricultural land uses, networks of infrastructure, and industrial activities dominate the more highly modified biomes. These lands are commonly subject to five or more human stressors simultaneously, threatening naturally-occurring ecosystem services.
What are Ecosystem Services?
An ecosystem service is any positive benefit that wildlife or ecosystems provide to people, and they can be sorted into four categories:
- Provisioning Services: This is the primary benefit of nature. Humans derive their food, water, and resources from nature.
- Regulating: Plants clean air and filter water, tree roots help to keep soil in place to prevent erosion, bees pollinate flowers, and bacterial colonies help to decompose waste.
- Cultural Services: Humans have long interacted with the “wild” and it in turn has influenced our social, intellectual, and cultural development. However, the built environment of a city or town separates man from nature and ancient patterns of life. Ecosystems have long served as inspiration for music, art, architecture, and recreation.
- Supporting Services: Ecosystems contain the fundamental natural processes that make life possible such as photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, soil creation, and the water cycle. These natural processes bring the Earth to life. Without these supporting services, provisional, regulating, and cultural services wouldn’t exist.
A Delicate Balance
With each encroachment upon habitat, the potential increases for humans to inadvertently upset the careful balance of ecosystem services that have nourished the processes of life on Earth.
As we become more aware of the human impact on the plant, we can make smarter decisions about how our society and economies function—ultimately ensuring that the same ecosystem services are there for future generations.
Agriculture
Fertilizer: Why it’s More Important than You Think
Fertilizer usage dates back to as early as 6,000 to 2,400 BC and remains just as crucial for crop production today.

Fertilizer: Why It’s More Important Than You think
The global population is expected to reach nearly 10 billion people by 2050. So, in order to feed our growing world sustainably, increased crop production is essential.
Over recent decades, farmers have been able to more than double their production of crops thanks to fertilizers and the vital nutrients they contain.
When crops are harvested, the essential nutrients are taken away with them to the dining table, resulting in the depletion of these nutrients in the soil. To replenish these nutrients, fertilizers are needed, and the cycle continues.
The above infographic by Brazil Potash shows the role that each macronutrient plays in growing healthy, high-yielding crops.
Food for Growth
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) are three primary macronutrients that are the building blocks of the global fertilizer industry. Each plays a key role in plant nutrition and promoting crop growth with higher yields.
Let’s take a look at how each macronutrient affects plant growth.
Nutrient | Why it’s needed? | What does it do? | What happens without it? |
---|---|---|---|
Nitrogen (N) | Needed for the formation of all plant and animal proteins. | Nitrogen ensures that energy is available when and where it is needed to maximize yield and regulate water and nutrient uptake. | Nitrogen deficiency in crops causes stunted and spindly plants, low protein content in seed and vegetative parts, and fewer leaves. |
Phosphorus (P) | Vital for plant photosynthesis. | Phosphorus allows plants to convert the sun’s energy into food, fiber, and oil. It improves how efficiently the plant absorbs water and macronutrients such as nitrogen. | Phosphorus deficiency causes stunted growth, reduced crop yields, low quality harvests, and moisture stress. |
Potassium (K) | Essential for robust high quality crops. | Potassium helps regulate water pressure in plant cells and maximizes crop yields by strengthening plant stems to make them more resilient to drought, flooding, and temperature swings. | Potassium deficiency causes a slower growth rate of plants, delayed pollination and maturity, underdeveloped leaves, reduced crop yields, weakened stalks, and moisture stress. |
If crops lack NPK macronutrients, they become vulnerable to various stresses caused by weather conditions, pests, and diseases. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain a balance of all three macronutrients for the production of healthy, high-yielding crops.
The Importance of Fertilizers
Humans identified the importance of using fertilizers, such as manure, to nourish crops dating back to nearly 6,000 to 2,400 BC.
As agriculture became more intensive and large-scale, farmers began to experiment with different types of fertilizers. Today advanced chemical fertilizers are used across the globe to enhance global crop production.
There are a myriad of factors that affect soil type, and so the farmable land must have a healthy balance of all three macronutrients to support high-yielding, healthy crops. Consequently, arable land around the world varies in the amount and type of fertilizer it needs.
Fertilizers play an integral role in strengthening food security, and a supply of locally available fertilizer is needed in supporting global food systems in an ever-growing world.
Brazil is one of the largest exporters of agricultural goods in the world. However, the country is vulnerable as it relies on importing more than 95% of its potash to support crop growth.
Brazil Potash is developing a new potash project in Brazil to ensure a stable domestic source of this nutrient-rich fertilizer critical for global food security.
Click here to learn more about fertilizer and food production in Brazil.

-
Demographics2 hours ago
Mapped: The World’s Happiest Countries in 2023
Where do the happiest people on earth live? This map is a snapshot of the world’s most (and least) happy countries in 2023.
-
Money4 days ago
The Richest People in the World in 2023
The world’s five richest people are worth a combined $729 billion. From luxury moguls to Asia’s rising titans, we show the richest in 2023.
-
Mining5 days ago
Charted: 30 Years of Central Bank Gold Demand
Globally, central banks bought a record 1,136 tonnes of gold in 2022. How has central bank gold demand changed over the last three decades?
-
Personal Finance5 days ago
Mapped: Minimum Wage Around the World
This infographic shows the net minimum wage across 67 countries, as of January 2023. A breakdown by U.S. state is also included.
-
Datastream5 days ago
Will Connected Cars Break the Internet?
By 2025, connected cars could produce 10 exabytes (exabyte = 1B gigabytes) of data per month, a thousand-fold increase over current volumes.
-
Money6 days ago
The Growing Auto Loan Problem Facing Young Americans
After a borrowing spree during COVID-19, younger Americans are struggling to keep up with their auto loan payments.
-
Money4 days ago
The Richest People in the World in 2023
-
Politics3 weeks ago
How the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Impacts Science and Academia
-
Datastream2 weeks ago
The Drive for a Fully Autonomous Car
-
Demographics2 hours ago
Mapped: The World’s Happiest Countries in 2023
-
Misc3 weeks ago
Ranked: Biotoxins in Nature, by Lethal Dose
-
Markets2 weeks ago
Mapped: The Largest 15 U.S. Cities by GDP
-
Markets3 weeks ago
Which Countries Have the Lowest Inflation?
-
Misc1 week ago
Vintage Viz: China’s Export Economy in the Early 20th Century